GOVERNMENT

NREGA battling cancerous corruption in Orissa

Rs.500 crores of Orissa's funds for rural employment guarantees for 2006-7
appear to have been siphoned off by the state bureaucracy. This money would
have brought 10 lakh poorest families two subsistence meals for four-six months,
at a time of hunger and starvation deaths.
Parshuram Rai
has more.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is arguably the most
progressive and radical legislation in the history of Independent India. If
implemented in letter and spirit, this historic Act has the potential to
transform the face of rural India. It would be a great tragedy if the
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) ends up as another money minting
machine for India's sarkari babus, i.e. the bureaucracy. Unfortunately, that is
what has happened in the state of Orissa.

Adivasis of Pokharighat village, Bhawanipatna block, Kalahandi district
in Orissa. They are showing their job cards with forged job entries.
More than 90 per cent of NREGA funds in this village have been misappropriated
by officials. Pic: Pramod Kumar.

Rupa Majhi, a poor Adivasi of Palsipada village in Kalahandi district, was
actually given 21 days of employment and paid Rs.600 as wages during 2006-7.
Majhi worked on a road construction project
executed under the high-profile anti-poverty programme NREGS. But, on his job
card, government officials falsely wrote that he had worked for 336 days. Majhi
job card posted online on NREGS website has a third version of work and payment
details. As per those entries, Majhi was given 102 days of wage employment and
paid Rs.6310 as wages. So, out of Rs.6310, only
Rs. 600 actually came in Majhi's hands. The remaining Rs.5710 which
is more than 90 percent of the total wage payment has been siphoned off and
misappropriated by the government officials.

Chandra Majhi of Palsipada village has not received any employment under rural
job scheme. But, in his job card (hard copy), there is fake job entry of 126
days. On the NREGS website, 108 days of employment and Rs.5940 as wages have
been falsely shown in his name. In this case, 100 per cent of the wages have
been eaten up by the government officials.

In their names we partake

The stories of Rupa Majhi and
Chandra Majhi are not isolated cases of financial bungling and misappropriation
of NREGS funds in Orissa. This is the story of about 13 lakh poor households
of Orissa who were 'supposedly' given wage employment under NREGS during 2006-7.

Orissa is one of the poorest states with a very high percentage of rural
population living in abject poverty and chronic hunger. It is only logical to
give top priority to this state in terms of fund allocation. Orissa was
allocated Rs.890 crores under NREGS and the state was able to spend Rs.733
crore during 2006-7. As per the official records of the state government, it
provided 799 lakh persondays of employment to 13,94,169 households during
2006-7 and no family was denied wage employment. In other words, every needy
and demanding family in the state was given an average 57 days of wage
employment during the year and not a single needy household was denied wage
employment in 19 NREGS districts of the state. The Orissa government also
claims that 1,54,118 families in the state completed 100 days of wage employment
during 2006-7.

Government of Orissa's claim

Each of the needy households in 19 districts of the state was given on an average 57 days of wage employment
during 2006-7. A total of 799 lakh persondays of employment have been provided, says the government.

Debunking the claim

The CEFS survey in 100 villages of Orissa revealed that over 90 per cent families in rural areas of Orissa are desperate for wage employment. This amounts to 39 lakh needy households.

Even assuming that the total of 799 lakh persondays of employment was true, and divided among 39 lakh needy households, the average days of employment per household comes to 20 days.

But out of the 799 lakh persondays of employment, only about 25 per cent has actually been given to the people, the remaining 75 per cent has been faked on the muster rolls, false job cards and forged official documents.

In other words only about 200 lakh persondays of employment has been given. Taking 39 lakh households, this amounts five days per household and not 57.

To put this in perspective, the NREGA promises 100 days of wage employment to every needy household, the Government of Orissa (with the highest per capita allocation of NREGA funds in the country) has delivered on an average only 5 days of employment to every needy family.

But a random survey in 100 villages of Orissa has revealed that all these
claims are bogus and manufactured only in official records in order to siphon
off NREGS funds. The survey conducted in Orissa's six poorest districts has
uncovered that of Rs.733 crores, more than Rs.500 crores has been
siphoned off and misappropriated by the government officials.

The Delhi-based Centre for Environment and Food Security (CEFS) conducted this
survey in 100 villages from six districts of KBK (Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput)
region - Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada. I was
the principal investigator and writer of this survey report. Our back of the
envelope calculations suggest that less than 200 lakh persondays of employment
has been provided on the ground and more than around 600 lakh persondays of employment
has been provided only in the pages of false job cards and fabricated muster
rolls. Not more than 5 days of average
employment has been given to each of the needy families in 19 NREGS districts of
the state and large number of needy families were denied any employment.

We could not find a single family in the 100 sample villages who had actually
got 100 days of wage employment. 37 villages out of 100 sample villages have
got no wage employment whatsoever. More than 40 villages had on an average of
four to five times fake job and wage entries than their actuals. We found very
few families who had got 20-40 days of wage employment. The rest of the
families, if at all they have got any employment, it is mostly between 5 to
21 days. However, online job cards of most of these households have job and
wage entries for 111 days, 108 days, 104 days, 102 days, 100 days, 96 days, 90 days,
84 days, 72 days, 65 days, 60 days, 52 days and so on, which are evidently
fabricated. This is the way Orissa has spent Rs.733 crore.

To put Rs.500 crores of siphoned NREGA funds in perspective, this amount of
money would have given about 90 days of wage employment to about 10 lakh poor
families of Orissa. In other words, each of these 10 lakh poorest families would
have got Rs.5000 as wages. This amount of Rs.5000 in the context of these poor
and hungry families would have given 4-6 months of two subsistence meals or
one meal for the whole year. Therefore, it is not just another financial scam,
but the Orissa bureaucracy has literally robbed 10 lakh hungry families of one meal
for the whole year. It is not surprising that during last one month hundreds of Adivasis
have died in Rayagada, Koraput and Kalahandi districts of Orissa due to disease,
and hunger.

As a result, the current levels of hunger, poverty and deprivation in Orissa's KBK region is
as deep, demeaning and dehumanising as ever. The Rural Employment Scheme has made virtually
zero impact on the livelihood security of Orissa's rural poor. There is no let up in
the level of distress migration of Adivasis and Dalits from Orissa's KBK reason
in search of livelihood in other parts of the country. On the Human Development
Index, many of the sub-Saharan villages would fare better than most of the KBK
villages. Hunger and abject poverty are widespread in all the 100 villages of
KBK region we visited. Large number of children in these villages are suffering
from severe malnutrition. The hollowed cheeks, sunken eyes and distended bellies
of the emaciated children tell this story.

Sidelining the panchayat system to avoid local oversight

The provision of social audit included in the NREGA looks like a fraud on
the rural poor of Orissa. There has been no social audit whatsoever in any of
the 100 villages visited by us. There is zero accountability, total absence
of transparency in the administration of NREGS, and subversion of the grassroots
democracy. Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been completely sidelined in the
implementation of NREGS. For example, Sarpanches are asked by Village Level Workers
(also called Panchayat Executive Officers in some states or PEOs) to sign on blank
cheques and VLWs (Village Level Worker) decide everything.

The VLWs are the lowest rung in the chain of state bureaucracy, with the Chief Secretary of the state
being at the apex. VLWs are appointed by the state governments and they are
supposed to report to the Block Development Officer (BDO). As per the constitutional
scheme, the role and relationship of the VLW with the Sarpanch should be similar to
the role and relationship of a secretary/commissioner with the Minister of a Ministry
or Department. The former is accountable to the later and not vice versa.

Out of 100 villages visited, we could not find a single panchayat office open. There
was lockout on all the panchayat bhawans we visited. The villagers told us that these
offices open only once or twice in a month. The VLWs, who are the only fulltime and
salaried officials, normally stay in towns 40-50 kms away from the gram panchayats,
and they go there only when it is 'absolutely necessary'. They do most of their
official works from home. Even muster rolls and job cards of the NREGS are kept in
the homes of VLWs, which is illegal.

Bright signboards of NREGA works at a single place on the road from
Rayagada to Kashipur. The project villages are in the Laxmipur block,
of Koraput district. 80-90 per cent of NREGA funds have been misappropriated
by executing officials here. Adivasis were drying mango kernel to face the
hunger during rainy season. Pic: Pramod Kumar.

In the panchayats we visited, VLWs are not sharing a single piece of
information about the NREGS works with any of the elected representatives.
Muster rolls are treated as more secret than the nuclear secrets of the country. We could not meet a single person in
these 100 villages who had ever seen muster rolls of the NREGS works in his
village. Muster rolls are always kept in the homes of VLWs and villagers who
work in NREGS projects are made to sign on blank muster rolls. This is the
flagrant violation of the NREGA law passed by Parliament. As per the NREGA,
muster rolls are a public document and should be always available for public
scrutiny by anyone.

It is a mockery of grassroots democracy and blatant violation of the 73rd
amendment of the Indian constitution whereby gram panchayats have been given
substantive executive, financial and monitoring powers with regard to
implementation of all the development programmes and social welfare schemes
pertaining. But the colonial work culture of Orissa's bureaucracy allows a
VLW to behave as if the Sarpanch is accountable to him
and not vice-versa. This inversion of role and
relationship is the biggest hurdle in the way of real
empowerment of PRIs.

The rot goes all the way to the top. Orissa's citizens and NGOs need the
permission of the BDO to see muster rolls of NREGS and what's worse, citizens
need the District Collector's permission to go to the block office or meet the BDO!
The BDO of Nandapur Block (Koraput district) Jyoti Ranjan Mishra has instructed all the VLWs of the
block not to show muster rolls of NREGS works to anyone without his permission.
Since we had found massive financial bungling in many villages of Nandapur
Block, we wanted to verify the muster rolls and job cards of the concerned
panchayats which were lying with the respective VLWs. But, when we approached
the VLW of Raisingh Gram Panchayat, Nagesh Choudhary, he gave us in writing
that he needed the BDO's permission to show muster rolls to any body.

When we approached Mishra the next day, he bluntly refused to show
any muster rolls to us unless we did get
permission for the same from District Collector or some higher authority of
Government of India. We then contacted the Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Orissa Government,
Rabindra Nath Dash, and requested his intervention in the matter. Dash told us
that he would immediately ask the BDO to show muster rolls to us. To
our utter shock and disbelief, within half-an-hour we received a call from
Dash's personal staff asking us whether we did have permission of the
District Collector or any higher authority for meeting the concerned BDO.

If this could happen to a research team coming from
Delhi, one shudders to imagine what could happen to a poor and illiterate
Adivasi or Dalit of Orissa.

When we asked why we needed this permission, he told us as how dare we go to the
BDO's office without District Collector's permission. He asked us in stern voice
to return from the block office and not to visit any village in the Block. We
also got three telephone calls from APD (Additional Project Director, District
Rural Development Agency-Koraput) asking us not to visit any village of Nandapur
block. We had also sought intervention from the offices of District Collector
(Koraput), Chief Secretary and Chief Minister of Orissa. Despite all these
efforts, we did not succeed in seeing the muster rolls.

The experience in Nandapur block was highly demeaning and disgusting. The whole
administrative machinery was pressed into service to cover up the financial
bunglings in the block. If this could happen to a research team coming from
Delhi, one shudders to imagine what could happen to a poor and illiterate
Adivasi or Dalit of Orissa.

The sense of fear of bureaucracy among Orissa's Adivasis and Dalits is
palpable, and also reminiscent of the British era's reign of
terror unleashed by imperial bureaucracy.

There's more. Activists and NGOs spreading awareness about the NREGS among rural poor of
the state are threatened with dire consequences and many have been terrorised
into silence by BDOs and other executing officials. In Tentulikhunti block of Nabarangpur district,
the BDO Gangaram Pradhan and other officials have threatened NGOs and activists.
Some local activists who accompanied the CEFS research team during survey in Tentulikhunti block in
last week of May are being threatened by the government officials and
contractors who have misappropriated NREGS funds.

When CEFS sent some activists
of Orissa to carry out field investigation in some villages of Khariar block
(Nuapada district) during July 2007, many villagers refused to tell them as
how many days of actual employment was given to them, because the BDO and other
officials had threatened villagers to send them to jail if they told any one about
their actual days of NREGS employment.

Unless transparency safeguards incorporated in the NREGS are implemented in
letter and spirit, it appears that little can protect NREGS from the lust of
Orissa's sarkari babus. If this radical scheme has to really achieve its
stated objectives, it has to be liberated from the clutches of the self-serving
bureaucracy and handed over into the custody of panchayat bodies themselves.
This may warrant a few amendments in the law itself.

Parshuram Rai19 October 2007

The author is director of Delhi-based Centre for Environment and Food Security, and was a
principal investigator in the survey.

sampad mahapatra
It's shocking to say the least. Imagine a government bending backwards to allow foreign multinational companies to trample on the rights of the poor and to plunder our natural resources while denying bonafide citizens of the country the rights guaranteed under the Constitution and the law of the land !!!
Does Mr Rai or anyone for that matgter need anybody's clearance or permission to catch a thief ?
It's a broad daylight robbery of funds meant fro the poor. That is the reason why the mandatory Social Audit, an integral part of the NREGA, has been completely ignored. That should give us all an good impression of what the "transparent and clean" government in Orissa has come to mean.
Hats off to Parshuram Rai who has brought to light the huge NREGS scam in Orissa. I hope efforts made by him and a few NGOs in Orissa will ensure the scam is probed in great detail and the guilty get exemplary punishment. This is one case that deserves to be probed not by any govt (State or Central ) BUT by the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.

Badal kumar Tah
We have conducted mini studies in and around Rayagada. The situation seems worse. For last one year, some people are yet to receive their wage.
Badal Tah
Correspondent
The PIONEER

October 23 2007, 3:04 AM ·
0 ·
0

Suchithra Ramaswamy
Dear Sir,
I appreciate Mr Parusham Rai for putting together such an amazing post. While other websites and media is touting NRGES to be success story in India to allievate poverty, India Together has dared to portray the real picture. The amount of corruption that can happen based on Act, which is under constant supervision by the public eye, is quite shocking. This article leaves the readers to imagine the plight of other projects undertaken by Government. India is definitely not a poor country going by the number of hundreds of crorers budgeted for such developmental projects. Its a pure case of mismangement and looting of citizen's money. While I was reading this article I was wondering if we can use RTI Act to bring the facts to the public instead of begging these corrupt officers. Also I would request the author to add a footnote as to how the readers of such articles can contribute towards such initiatives. I appreciate the excellent work done by India Together team. Keep it up.

October 26 2007, 3:08 PM ·
0 ·
0

A R Barbhuiya
This is great effort. This need to be widely shared. We are interested to replicate the same initiative in Assam from PFI Foundation.

October 30 2007, 7:31 AM ·
0 ·
0

P.Narasimha Reddy
How many State Governments are submitting Utilization certificates for the funds drawn from the
centre ? What prevents Centre to say NO to those not complying ?
Why not BARE the Governments and make them responsible.

November 03 2007, 12:20 AM ·
0 ·
0

Kohl Gill
Indeed, this situation seems ripe for application of the Right to Information Act, 2005. I would be happy to help anyone interested in taking the lead on such an action.

November 27 2007, 3:07 PM ·
0 ·
0

Ramesh Babu
An excellant input. Poor district like Koraput need these kinds of schemes for upliftment.

February 05 2008, 4:33 PM ·
0 ·
0

bibhutirath
really mr. parsuram sir your are 100 percent right. but the cruel thing is that the state govt is deliberately advertising that the project has failed because of central govt. they were not cooperating the officials of orissa. can we do some thing about this please.

February 09 2008, 10:17 AM ·
0 ·
0

NABIN CHANDRA GARADA
Dear Sir,
We have conducted survy in some block of Koraput district. The situation seems worse. Till now some people are yet to not receive their job card .

February 25 2008, 8:39 AM ·
0 ·
0

Bibhu Mohapatra
During a recent visit to Koraput we found that the bottleneck in the system exists in the form of a) applying for jobs -- which most villagers did not know;b) people understood that they get to work only in their own village works and in many cases they were turned back from neighboring villages with the explanation that you work when your village work is sanctioned;c)BDO, PEO and most NGO workers were unaware of the process through which work was sanctioned and money allotted for a work under NREGS. The PD, DRDA, Koraput ( Bibekananda Mohapatra) candidly admitted that during 2006-7 they had to get most of the work done through contractors, though things are now being put in place. It is a crime against humanity to steal money from the hungry and voiceless.

March 13 2008, 8:40 AM ·
0 ·
0

dusmanta
we are come to know that the activites underNREGA has been not implementing properly and high % of curroption taking place by the officials. so how this type of currption will be checked and the scheme will implemented towards the benefit of poor.

March 27 2008, 10:06 AM ·
0 ·
0

Vineeta Singh
I am a Programme Officer responsible for overall management of NREGA in a block in Madhubani district of Bihar. I am interested in bringing to the light the challenges faced by a block level government officer in implementing NREGA. In Bihar, PRIs are primarily responsible for implementing NREGA. Here, even if the bureaucracy is efficient and willing to implement NREGA in the most effective manner, PRIs are making the task impossible. Its an uphill task to ontain correct reports and utilisation certificates from the Panchayats. The everrising conflicts between different tiers of PRI system in selection and implementation of schemes and above all their demand for bribe/ commission, misuse of RTI Act to settle scores with political rivals, etc is making it really difficult for us to effectively implement NREGA on ground.